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DESCRIPTION 

OF A 

ROMAN BUILDING 


AND OTHER REMAINS 


LATELY DISCOVERED AT 

CAERLEON. 


BY JOHN EDWARD LEE. 



LONDON: 

J. R. SMITH, 4, OLD COMPTON STREET. 


MDCCCL. 





Price Five Shillings. 










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PREFACE. 


Of the present etchings, which are intended as an appendix to the 
“Roman Antiquities of Caerleon,” published some years since, 
nine have already appeared in the Archaeologia Cambrensis. 

In these plates, as well as in the other nine which have been 
added, there may possibly appear a want of arrangement; the 
apology for which is that the objects were drawn and etched 
nearly in the order in which they were discovered. 

The profits (if any) arising from the sale of this pamphlet, will 
be devoted to the funds of the Museum of Antiquities at 
Caerleon. 

To those who are unacquainted with the neighbourhood, it may 
be well to state that a Museum is now in the course of erection, in 
which nearly all the Antiquities of Caerleon will be deposited. 
The building is now covered in; but though the sum of about five 
hundred pounds has already been collected, chiefly in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, yet this amount has been found insufficient, and in 
order to complete the interior, so as to exhibit in a proper manner 
the large number of antiquities which will be deposited there, a 
further sum of about one hundred pounds is necessary. As the 
immediate neighbourhood has contributed liberally, the kind as¬ 
sistance of Antiquaries in general is earnestly requested. Any 
donation to this object will be immediately acknowledged by the 
author and paid over to the building fund. 


The Priory , Caerleon, 

3rd November, 1849. 



























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TBcsmpttcm of a Bomatt Buillrtng, &t* 


F ew places in the kingdom will better repay the labours of the 
antiquary than Caerleon. Having been for a long series of years 
the station of a Roman legion, and subsequently one of the border 
fortresses of Wales, it might naturally be expected to contain a 
rich mine of antiquities. That such is the case with respect to 
Roman remains, is well known: buried in the earth by the accumu¬ 
lations of centuries, they have remained in most cases undisturbed, 
while the walls, and the towers of the middle ages have been more 
exposed, and, with few exceptions have yielded to the repeated 
ravages of border warfare, or what is still more effective, to the 
rude hand of spoliation: there is no doubt that the ruins of the 
medieval castle, of which so little now remains, formed the quarry 
which supplied the materials for a large portion of the present 
buildings. 

It is a well known fact, that many years ago, some parts of the 
town, which are common property, were found to be so full of 
Roman foundations, that the labour of digging the whole of them 
over was more than repaid by the value of the stone. Since that 
time, comparatively few opportunities of investigation have been 
offered till within the last two or three years, when an excavation 
on a very extensive scale has brought to light remains of the 
highest interest; it is indeed fortunate for the antiquary, that the 
proprietor, Mr. John Jenkins, should have determined on removing 
the heap of earth, which for so many centuries has covered these 


rums. 



6 


The grounds in which they occur contain the most interesting 
objects in the town of Caerleon: within a short distance, are in¬ 
cluded the singular hill called the castle mound, the site and a 
few portions of the medieval castle, and the remains of a very large 
Roman building. The greater part of the latter has been exposed 
to view during the present year; and though it is much to be 
regretted that it cannot be preserved entire, consistently with the 
alterations which Mr. Jenkins is making, yet the antiquary is 
deeply indebted to this gentleman for one of the most extensive 
excavations which has ever been made in the neighbourhood : few 
of those who now walk over the rooms and passages could imagine 
the vast body of earth which once covered them: it is more than 
probable, that unless Mr. Jenkins had fortunately determined on 
these alterations, and had most liberally afforded every facility for 
investigation as the work proceeded, these interesting foundations 
would never have seen the light: none of our societies of anti¬ 
quaries would have ventured on a work of such magnitude. 

The accompanying ground plan shews the extent of the Roman 
building, as far as it has been ascertained, and also the situation of 
the few medieval remains; they are distinguished by a different 
mode of shading. The towers at the foot of the castle mound have 
occasionally been considered as Roman, but there appears to be 
little doubt that they are of much later date. The line of the 
ancient city walls runs through Mr. Jenkins’ property, and the 
Roman building w T as decidedly on the outside: this is also the case 
with the present remains of the medieval castle, but it appears 
probable that it was originally of very large size, and rather con¬ 
sisted of an extension of the walls, than of a separate building 
beyond them. 

The upper part of the earth covering the Roman building had 
evidently been deposited there by art, and was not gradually accu¬ 
mulated : but as the excavation proceeded, and parts of the Roman 
walls began to appear, layers of ashes, mixed with fragments of 
bricks, and other materials, plainly declared that at least some 
parts of the building had suffered from fire ; it is rather singular, 


7 


however, that in general, the ashes do not cover the floors of the 
rooms, bnt alternate with layers of rubbish, a short distance above 
them : it appears therefore probable, that the building had been 
allowed in a great measure to go to decay, before it was burnt. 

When the earth had been cleared away sufficiently to afford a 
general idea of the arrangement of the rooms, it appeared very 
evident that the building had undergone one, or perhaps two al¬ 
terations during its occupation by the Romans. A reference to 
the plan will shew, that after the change, a large part of the centre 
was occupied by a court, floored with large flags or slates, covering 
not only several of the more ancient walls, which had been brought 
down to this level, but also a very complete and well preserved 
bath: it is singular that in the alteration above referred to, a large 
drain had been cut across this bath, through both walls, and that 
the sides of the drain are of totally different masonry from the walls 
of the bath, having no face on the outer side. 

In several other parts of the building, the walls appear to have 
been taken down nearly to one uniform level, and the whole ground 
afterwards covered with a flagged pavement. One of the pillars 
rests on a wall of this description. 

In one or two instances, the low walls, and even the bases of the 
pillars of a hypocaust, were covered by the concrete floors of the 
later occupation. Another singular circumstance is the fact of an 
altar having been used as common stone, and built into the wall : 
a view of it is given Jig. 3. Plate XYII: a portion of the Roman 
mortar, made with pounded brick, still adheres to it: this evidently 
points to a comparatively late date. 

These changes, which have taken place in the building, render 
it exceedingly difficult to determine the use of the different rooms. 
It will be well, first, to state what was the probable condition of 
the building during the later period; and then to describe each 
room in detail, so far as there is any peculiarity worth notice. 

A very large space appears to have been covered, after the 
alteration of the building, with flag pavement: the whole of the 


8 


portion of the building, included within the letters a. b. c. d. e. /. 
g. h. seems to have been on the same level, or very nearly so; and 
the pavement which extended over the whole, covered the branch¬ 
ing drain, the bath with two seats, the singular little room m, 
and several of the walls, but not the row of four pillars: as the 
wall to the north of them was flagged over, it is difficult to decide 
to what use these pillars were applied. It seems also evident that 
the rooms q. r. s. had been thrown into one, when the house was 
altered, from the fact of a concrete pavement having completely 
covered the cross walls, and also the few remaining bases of the 
pillars of a hypocaust. The rooms t. u. also appear originally to 
have formed but one: the cross wall, and the bases of the hy¬ 
pocaust pillars have assisted in forming the substratum of the 
concrete. 

As far as it can be ascertained therefore, the appearance of the 
building at the later period referred to, would be that of a large 
irregular court yard, paved with flags, and surrounded by the rooms, 
i. k. 1. o. p. and the two larger rooms made out of the five smaller 
ones q. r. s. t. u .; probably the excavations of another year may 
shew the rooms which bounded the court on the south and east 
sides, and thus throw some additional light on the general arrange¬ 
ment. 

Having thus briefly stated the supposed appearance of the 
building of the later period, it only remains to describe the 
foundations, as they exist at the present day. 

A reference to the plan will shew that they are of great extent, 
and have originally enclosed an area of nearly two hundred feet 
square. In some places the ground appears to have been opened 
before, as only portions of the walls are now in existence, and 
many of the best and largest stones have been removed: the 
remains of walls to the south, though evidently connected with the 
same building, are for this reason somewhat indefinite; but then 
it must be borne in mind, that as these walls were deep in the 
ground, and were only shewn where Mr. Jenkins found it necessary 


9 


to excavate for the foundation of his new boundary wall, it is not 
unlikely, that had circumstances allowed of further investigation, 
the arrangement might have been shewn more distinctly. As far 
as can be judged however, from what was exposed, the outermost 
of the three parallel walls laid down on the plan, seems to have 
formed the boundary of the Roman building to the south. There 
is no appearance of any similar boundary wall to the north, and 
east. On the west side there has only been a partial excavation, 
and this took place some time since: it is not unlikely that the 
Roman foundations may extend in this direction beyond Mr. 
Jenkins’ property. 

Beginning our observations at the north-west corner, we may 
notice portions of several rooms of which the greater part has 
disappeared, and respecting which of course there is nothing to 
remark: this is also the case with respect to the two rooms i. and 
£., except that the shape of the former is somewhat singular: both 
these rooms were floored with good concrete, while a room or court 
yard to the west, of which but very little is left, was covered with 
flag pavement. In the room l. of which only a portion, of a semi¬ 
circular form remains, the plaster which covered the side wall, 
when first opened, was very perfect, and retained much of its 
original colour; it appeared to have been painted red in the centre, 
with a green border. In this place was found the large stone 
drawn Plate VIII. jig. 2 ; it belongs apparently to the pediment 
of the building, and bears a striking resemblance, though of far 
inferior workmanship, to that which is now preserved in the 
museum at Bath. In the centre is sculptured a head of Medusa, 
entwined with snakes. The dampness of the earth, in which it had 
been lying for so long a time, has caused a part of the face to scale 
off, and even what now remains will be preserved with some diffi¬ 
culty. A sort of lip or raised edge, of which but a small portion is 
now to be seen, appears to have run around the stone. The scale of 
feet, to the right of the drawing, will shew its large size. This 
room, which was floored with concrete, was three feet five inches 

B 


10 


lower than the pavement which extended over so much of the 
building. 

It has been mentioned already, that this pavement has doubtless 
extended over the hath, marked 1. on the plan, and the surrounding 
space: this seems very evident from the remains of it in various 
places; and also from the fact, that the walls have been taken 
down to an exact level: it is however singular, that part of the 
flags appear to have been removed at some prior excavation : but 
the whole of those which covered the drain, as well as most of the 
walls of the bath, were remaining quite perfect, when the ground 
was first opened by Mr. Jenkins. 

This bath, as already stated, had been cut through, when the 
house was altered, in order to form the drain 0 ; it is therefore 
divided into two parts, w'hich correspond in every particular: it is 
very neatly covered with excellent stucco, which is faced with rather 
large fragments of pounded brick: a double seat, similar to two 
broad steps was placed at each end, 2. 2 : the upper part of these 
seats was formed of the large square tiles well known in every 
Roman structure. 

It has lately been a common remark, that almost every room in 
Roman buildings has, by some antiquaries, been supposed to be a 
bath, and there may be some truth in the complaint, but this ought 
not to lead to the opposite error of supposing that there were few 
or no baths at all in the Roman buildings in Britain. In the 
present case, there can be no doubt about the fact, for a large and 
heavy leaden pipe now remains in the wall leading from the centre 
of the bath into a drain on the outside. The diameter of this pipe 
is five inches internally, and six externally, and its length is four 
feet and a half: its position will be seen on the plan, 3. Around 
the bottom of the bath and also of the two seats, ran a neat skirting, 
or “ quarter round ” moulding, about three inches wide, of which a 


11 


section is given in the annexed rough 
sketch : this skirting is exactly simi¬ 
lar to that of a bath, lately opened 
in the Roman villa at Hartlip, and 
described by Mr. C. R. Smith in the 
last number of his Collectanea Antiqua. 

A similar skirting is also given by 
Mr. Way from Ickleton, in a late num¬ 
ber of the Journal of the Archaeological 
Institute; these drawings might almost have been copied from the 
bath at Caerleon. 



The drain which runs through the bath, and which is evidently 
of later date, extends in two directions considerably beyond it. 
Over the termination of one of these branches was placed a large 
circular perforated stone, for the escape of water: its position will 
be seen on the plan, 4, and a larger view of it is given Plate XVI. 
Jig. 3 : it has originally been one stone, though now it is broken 
into several pieces. It is somewhat singular, that the other branch 
of the drain, had no similar contrivance ; when first opened, the 
whole of it was covered over very neatly with flags secured by 
mortar. 

It will be seen by the plan that the drain runs eastward under 
the room i : this has not yet been taken up. 

Returning to the north-east of the building, the next room which 
claims attention is the small one marked m. The flagged pave¬ 
ment was not actually found covering this room, but as it extended 
over part of the wall forming one of its sides, there can be little 
doubt that this was the case. 

The floor was of concrete, of great thickness ; the lower part 
consisting of large angular stones, on which thin mortar had been 
poured, sufficient to bind them together, but not to fill up the 
interstices ; the next bed was of fine stones, which with the mortar 
formed a solid mass: on the top of this appeared to have been 
imbedded without any great attempt at regularity, a number of the 











12 


large square tiles, and the whole was covered over with a fine 
coating of concrete, brought to an exact level. It seems, in fact, 
as if in erecting the building, no regard whatever had been paid to 
the expenditure of materials: there appears to have been almost 
an unnecessary waste, in the thickness both of the walls and of the 
concrete floors. In some of the floors, square pieces of blue slate 
or stone were imbedded in the surface of the concrete: sometimes 
these were placed regularly, but in general they were quite the 
contrary, and appeared to lie as chance dictated. 

This room had no hypocaust, but was warmed by a somewhat 
singular flue, a drawing of which, and also a ground plan, are given 
in Plate IX. This flue ran along two of the walls, on one side 
being narrow, and a mere passage for air; on the other, consisting 
of a very neatly formed, and well stuccoed passage, sunk so far 
beneath the level of the floor, as to allow a number of the well- 
known square flue-tiles (one of which is drawn in the plate) to 
stand upright within it, and support the covering, which was 
formed of the large square or oblong tiles or bricks. These bricks 
were most singularly of very different sizes, and no regularity 
appears to have been observed in laying them down. The flue 
tiles may have answered the double purpose of a support to the 
floor above the flue, and also a means of detaining the hot air as 
long as possible : it will be seen from the sketch, that one of them 
is placed crossways, so as to allow very little passage for air. The 
drawing represents the flue, just after the whole of the bricks had 
been removed but one, which has been left, to shew the mode in 
which the flue was covered. Nearly all the large square bricks, 
both here and elsewhere in the building, bear the usual mark of 
the second Augustan legion. 

It has been observed in other Roman stations, that the square 
flue tiles (Plate IXJ were occasionally used, together with stone, 
in common building; a curious instance of tills was seen in the 
drains marked 13 and 14 on the plan. A large number of drains 
were discovered amongst the foundations, which varied exceedingly 


13 


both in size and materials; in some cases they were merely built 
of coarse stones; in others they were neatly stuccoed; some were 
floored with the large square roofing tiles, and others with con¬ 
crete : but the drain in question, when first opened, excited the 
curiosity of those present, as it seemed to be double; a smaller 
drain made of the square flue tiles, placed end to end, forming part 
of one of the walls, and running of course parallel with the large 
one ; these flue tiles were observed to run nearly thirty feet in the 
drain marked 14; and six or eight feet in that marked 13, and 
then suddenly to cease. On further examination, it was found that 
they had merely been used as a substitute for stone, probably 
during a temporary scarcity of it; for that portion of the wall, 
where they appeared, was not built of squared stone like the other, 
but of concrete like the bottom of the drain b, b, jig. 1, Plate VIII: 
the section of the flue tile is shewn at a. Where the flue tiles and 
concrete ceased, the wall was continued of stone. 

The room n. has little worthy of remark in it, except that it 
contains the base of one of the columns near its centre, and the 
base of another, placed on its left hand wall; thus shewing most 
clearly, that the room itself belonged to the original building, and 
the row of columns to that of later date. 

The plan will shew that in three instances the bases of the 
columns are still to be seen: they are about two feet high; all 
that remains of the fourth is a solid mass of masonry, which formed 
the foundation. 

It is somewhat singular that this row of four columns is deci¬ 
dedly a little out of a straight line; but whether this was originally 
the case, or they had been moved during the destruction of the 
building, is not very evident. It may perhaps be worthy of notice 
that to the south and right hand of the room o, and nearly as far 
from it as the row of four columns to the north, there appear to be 
two square masses of masonry, which may possibly have formed 
the foundations for other columns : it must be confessed that only 
one of them seems to agree with the columns to the north: the 


14 


wall separating the rooms p. and q. is in the same line, and at 
nearly a similar distance from the room o., and may possibly have 
supported other columns: there are however no traces of them 
here, and in fact, if we except the two masses of masonry, the case 
is one of mere supposition, and would not have been brought for¬ 
ward, were there not some difficulty in forming an opinion as to 
the uses of the four columns to the north.* 

A low seat, the top of which was formed of large square tiles 
ran along the whole south side of the room n. 

The room o. falls next under our consideration: it was floored 
with flags laid in mortar, and had in one corner a seat formed of 
two steps. The chief peculiarity of this room is the facing of 
carved stone, with which the sides were covered, nearly in the 
manner of our modern wainscotting. A general view of the room 
is given in Plate XII, and a more detailed sketch of the seat and a 
portion of the stone facing which still remains in its original position 
will be found jig. 1, Plate XYI. Some good specimens of the 
carved stone facings found loose in the building are given in Plate 
XIY. Fig. 3. in this plate appears to be very similar to that 
drawn by Mr. C. Roach Smith in his Collectanea Antiqua, No. IX. 
fig. 1, Plate 48. B. 

The walls of this room had a very large number of tiles built 
into them, but probably this may be accounted for by the fact that 
they are higher and better preserved than those in the other parts 
of the building : it appears to have been a general rule not to use 
many tiles, beneath the level of the floor, but to build very freely 
with them above it, so that sometimes the wall consists of them 
almost exclusively. 

In the small room g. to the left of o. is a seat marked 7 on the 
plan ; it will be seen also in the drawing Plate XII: and immedi¬ 
ately beneath it, the wall descends gradually to the lower level of 

* Soon after these foundations were first opened, a short account of them appeared in 
No. XIV of the Archaeologia Cambrensis. At that time, only the north-east comer of the 
room o. was exposed ; and a supposition was hazarded, that it might prove to be the implu- 
vium, and that the pillars supported the surrounding court; it is needless to add, that this 
idea has not been borne out by further excavations. 


15 


the rooms to the south: the general appearance here is that of 
masonry from which steps have been removed. This idea is also 
rendered probable by the peculiar overlapping of the two walls in 
this part, and also by the fact, that there appears no other opening 
into the room o. 

The room p. seems at one time to have been warmed by a hy- 
pocaust, as the traces of it still remain on the floor: they are 
however only traces, or square marks where the pillars have stood, 
but some of them appear very singularly to be cut off by the wall 
between the rooms o. and p .: this will be seen in^. 2. Plate XYI. 
The difficulty is, that this wall evidently belongs to the original 
building, and if so, the only mode of accounting for this appearance 
is, that a row of half pillars, or pilasters, was built up against the 
wall, so as to form part of the support of the upper floor. Another 
peculiarity in this room is shewn in the same sketch : in the corner 
a thick mass of concrete rests on a large square tile, being the only 
remains of the upper floor: and at a short distance from it, on both 
the sides shewn in the drawing, will be seen the remains of a flue 
tile, so placed that when the concrete extended over the whole, a 
flue for hot air passed through the body of concrete forming the 
floor. This will be made more evident by comparing the sketch 
with the ground plan. Most certainly the Romans used every 
possible means for protection against the moisture of our island 
climate. 

At some little distance to the left of the room o. is a mass of 
walling which seems like the corner of another room, as a part of 
a flagged pavement still remains: it is totally unconnected with 
any other part of the building; and probably is only a portion 
which has escaped from some previous excavation. 

The ground plan will shew nearly all that can be said of the three 
rooms q. r. s .: it has been before mentioned, that the walls dividing 
them, as well as a few pillars of a hypocaust, were completely 
covered over with a good layer of concrete: thus evidently shewing 
the changes which had been made in the house: the two views 


16 


Plates XII. and XIII. were drawn and etched before the plaster 
floor had been broken up, and consequently do not shew the cross 
walls, either of these rooms, or of those marked t. u. on the plan. 

The south wall of the little room r. is singularly thick: there 
appears to be no reason why it should have been four feet and a 
half in thickness, while nearly all the other walls in the building 
are but three feet. 

To the left of the room s. are a few pillars of a hypocaust, some 
of which were nearly perfect and about sixteen inches high, pro¬ 
bably the remains of a room the greater part of which has not yet 
been explored. To the right, at a short distance, is a small length 
of wall, totally unconnected with the building at present: it may 
have belonged to some part which has been destroyed before the 
present excavation. 

The rooms t. u. are only remarkable from their having a cross 
wall at so low a level, that some of the pillars of a hypocaust ex¬ 
tending nearly over the whole room, were placed upon it, and yet 
that the bases of these pillars, together with those of all the others, 
formed the substratum of a good concrete floor, which covered the 
two rooms, and till the floor was broken up gave the idea of one 
large room, instead of two small ones. Unless the cross wall were 
a tie-wall, which it possibly may have been, this fact would point 
to two alterations in the house, or to three periods. The first, 
when the two rooms w T ere distinct, and were without a hypocaust; 
the second, when they w T ere united, and were warmed by a hypo¬ 
caust ; the third, when the hypocaust was dispensed with, and a 
floor of concrete was laid over the whole: in this state the room 
\vas found when it was excavated. 

In the wall between the rooms s. and u. there was a flue or 
opening of about two feet in width. 

The room w. is floored with good concrete, retaining decided 
traces of a hypocaust, in a similar manner to the room p. The 
pillars of square tiles are entirely wanting, but the concrete is of a 
different colour, and is slightly raised, exactly where they have 


17 


stood ; apparently as if the intermediate spaces had been affected 
by the action of heat: after a heavy shower of rain the squares on 
which the base tiles had stood were so distinctly visible, that they 
might be traced with the greatest exactness. 

At the southern extremity of the room were the remains of two 
short walls built chiefly of square tiles: they evidently at one time 
formed a flue, the tiles being laid over each other in such a man¬ 
ner as gradually to approximate, so that at the height of about two 
feet, a single tile of moderate size would close the opening: this is 
shewn particularly at the part 
marked z* of which the an¬ 
nexed wood-cut will give some 
idea : a large quantity of ashes 
were found between, and near _ 

these short walls. r 





L 

i 

r 


E ' 

3 

J 

l- 

-n 



They very probably formed the furnace for heating the hypocaust, 
as an arrangement precisely similar was found in the fire-place of 
the Roman villa at Wheatley, near Oxford, a drawing of which is 
given in the second volume of the Archaeological Journal, page 
353. The spaces marked x. and y. (which from the comparative 
thinness of the walls were evidently on the outside of the building,) 
may have formed convenient yards for storing the fuel. 


Having thus described what particularly relates to the building 
itself, it only remains to give a brief account of those objects, 
drawn in the accompanying plates, which have not already been 
referred to. All of them unless otherwise specified were found kq 
or near the foundations, and are now in the possession of Mr. John 
Jenkins. 

Samian Ware. Plate I. figs. 1 and 2, are portions of a large 
bowl, of which several fragments were discovered, but unfortunately 
not sufficiently perfect to allow of the whole being restored. The 
combat of gladiators of the class called Samnites appears on every 
fragment. The crested helmet, one of their characteristics, is not 

very clearly shewn on the larger fragment, but another portion 

c 

































18 


drawn fig. 2, exhibits it rather more distinctly, though it must be 
confessed that even here, the crest is rather low than otherwise. 

But little can be said about fig. 3, except that it is a female 
figure drawing a bow, and that the head dress bears a ludicrous 
resemblance to a lady’s bonnet of the present day. 

Plate II. figs. 1 and 2, also require no particular remark. In 
fig. 2, which represents a combat between wild beasts and gladiators, 
the figures of the animals are very spirited. 

Fig. 8, is of a rather coarser material and polish, though evidently 
of the same character as the Samian ware. The form is somewhat 
singular; a lion’s head, on the outside, some distance below the 
rim, is perforated, so as to form a kind of spout; only a portion of 
the vessel remains, so that it cannot be ascertained whether there 
was a similar ornament on the other side, so as to give the two 
the appearance of handles. The perforation is so far below the 
rim, as to allow only about one-half or even less, of the vessel to 
hold liquid: the bottom is encrusted with the small pieces of 
pebble or large sand, which are so constantly found on the inner 
surface of the vessels called mortaria, and the actual use of which 
seems so little known; probably therefore this vessel may be con¬ 
sidered one of the same sort; but if so, it is the first which has 
been found at Caerleon of what is called Samian, or indeed of any 
other fine pottery. Is it possible that the side perforations may 
have been used to float off a decoction, or the finer parts of a 
mixture, the refuse or sediment remaining within ? A small 
fragment, somewhat similar as to the perforation, was found a few 
years since, but it was not sufficiently perfect to afford a drawing. 

Potter’s Marks. A few unpublished marks, as far as Caerleon 
is concerned, may be noted here ; they are given in Plate II. figs. 
3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. 

Mercator is a well-known mark; it has been found in 
London and elsewhere. Specimens have been discovered at 
Caerleon very distinct, and as usual, at the bottom of the vessels. 


19 


Fig. 3 has, however, the peculiarity of being placed at the side of 
the bowl, amongst the embossed figures of the Samian ware; 
it is reversed, and the letters, (of which only a part are distinct,) 
instead of being in relief, are sunk into the earthenware, so that it 
appears as if one of the usual impressions of this name in clay, after 
having been dried and burnt, had been used in this instance as a 
stamp. 

Fig. 4 is a mark on a portion of a mortarium : it is deeply im¬ 
pressed, and rather more ornamented than usual; it is reversed, 
and most probably may be read gattivs mansinvs. 

Figs. 5 and 6 are marks which will be understood better by the 
drawings than by the description; it is difficult to say for what they 
are intended. Fig. 7 of cot to is a stamp well known in London 
and elsewhere. 

Antefixa. Two of these singular tiles are shewn in Plate III. 
There is nothing very peculiar in the front of that drawn Fig. 1, 
but the back or left hand figure shews very distinctly the mode by 
which it was fixed to the roof. 

It appears that a sort of ridge-tile was fastened on, behind the 
antefix, at right-angles: and as it is well known, that the large 
roofing tiles were placed side by side, and their joinings covered by 
ridge-tiles, (as universally practised in Italy at present,) those, to 
which the antefixa were attached, would be placed the lowest in the 
row, and make an appropriate completion of the eaves. The 
antefixa, it is evident, would appear at intervals of the breadth of a 
rooftile, the whole length of the eaves. A very handsome antefix, 
with a large portion of the ridge still adhering to it, is now pre¬ 
served in the museum at Chester, and has been described and 
figured by Mr. C. R. Smith in a late number of the Journal of the 
Archaeological Association. 

Figs. 2 and 3 are portions of two antefixa, though of the same 
pattern: the idea of the complete antefix may be formed from 
these two fragments. Mr. C. R. Smith when at Caerleon a short 
time since, pointed out that the subject was a man riding on two 


20 


dolphins: the figures, as is frequently the case on antefixa are 
grotesque, and the workmanship rude. The drawings are one third 
of the actual size. 

Cornice Bricks. The two bricks drawn Jigs. 4 and 5, were 
found some time since in an excavation made in the ancient moat 
by Sir Digby Mackworth, Bart.: they appear to have been first 
made in a mould, and afterwards when burnt, finished off by the 
chisel, or some other tool; at least it is very evident, that four or 
five dentations in the under part of that drawn Jig. 4 (not very 
distinctly shewn in the etching,) were worked out in this manner. 
The Rev. C. W. King states that “mouldings of this description 
frequently occur in Roman buildings. The tomb commonly called 
the temple of the god Rediculus, near Rome, has all its architec¬ 
tural details, capitals, cornices, <fec., thus chiseled out of the solid 
brick.” These two bricks are drawn one-eighth of the actual size. 

Several similar bricks, but of a pattern rather different, were 
found amongst the ruins of the Roman building just described: 
one of them is drawn Plate XVII, Fig. 4. 

In the same place was also found a brick of a singular form, 
drawn Plate XVIII, Jig. 2 ; it may possibly have formed part of 
a cornice or moulding. 

Bronze Ornaments and Implements. Plate IV, Figs. 2 
and 3, are the figures of animals. Fig. 2 is a panther, a very 
frequent bacchanalian symbol. Fig. 3 may also have been inten¬ 
ded for a panther, but having lost its head and neck, it is rather 
difficult to determine. Fig. 5 was at once recognised by the Rev. 
C. W. King, who has been much in Italy, as the precise pattern 
of ear-rings at present in common use in Tuscany, but stamped out 
of thin plates of gold, in the same manner as jig. 5 must have been 
manufactured. The chain is still in very good preservation. Fig. 
4 may probably have been used for the same purpose. 

Fig. 1 is a metal stud with a head of greenish coloured glass. 
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 , and 12 are all fibulae of different 
kinds. Fig. 6 is only remarkable for its great length, and fig. 7 


21 


for its being formed of one single piece of wire throughout. Fig. 10 
is a magnified side view of the tongue of fig. 9 : it represents a 
dolphin’s head. Fig. 12 has in all probability been a very large 
but light and delicate fibula, fit only for very fine textures; but 
being imperfect, nothing very definite can be said respecting it. 

Plate Y, figs. 1, 2, 3,4 are bronze keys of various forms. Fig. 
5 is a very small spoon. Figs. 6 and 7 both resemble an instru¬ 
ment which was found at Springhead in Kent, and a drawing of 
which is given by Mr. C. R. Smith in No. 7 of his Collectanea 
Antiqua : he considered it to be some appendage to the toilet. 

Figs. 13, 14, and 15 are pins of bronze or brass. Plate YI, 
fig. 1, 2, and 3 are ornamental bosses: the two first are well- 
executed faces; the last is grotesque. These three formed part of 
the collection of T. C. Hooper Esq., who has kindly sent them to 
be deposited in the Caerleon museum, when completed. Fig. 4 
may probably have been an ear-ring. Fig. 6 appears to have been 
part of a buckle. 

Druid’s Bead. A handsome specimen of what is commonly 
known under this name is drawn fig. 5: it is of dark purple, 
marbled with yellowish white. 

Bone Pins and Needles. A variety of different forms of 
pins will be found in Plate Y. figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and also in 
Plate YI. figs. 7 and 8 : the last is peculiar from its having the 
head, or rather the upper part for a short distance, wrapped round 
with a thin plate of gold : this portion is smaller than the rest of 
the pin. 

Figs. 9, 10, and 11, in Plate YI are bone needles of various 
forms. Fig. 10, is peculiar, from the eye running through it 
diagonally, one end being at the side and the other at the top. 
Fig. 11 is remarkable for its great size. 

Inscriptions. Plate YII. fig. 1 is a sepulchral stone, which 
was found a short time since at Pil Bach near Caerleon, a farm 
belonging to John James, Esq., near the place where two pave¬ 
ments were lately discovered. It may be read thus 


22 


Dus Manibus Tadia Vallaunius yixit annos sexaginta 

QUINQUE ET TaDIUS ExUPERTUS FILIUS YIXIT ANNOS TRIGINTA 
septem defuntus (s«c) expeditione Germanic a Tadia Ex- 

UPERATA FILIA MATRI ET FRATRI PIISIMA SECUS TUMULUM 
PATRIS POSUIT. 

Which of the German expeditions Tadius Exupertus served in 
cannot be positively decided, as there seem to be no data to enable 
us to form an opinion, except the shape of the letters. Mr. King 
remarks, that the characters are of the form used in the time of 
Severus and his immediate successors. 

Two different interpretations may be given of the words defunctus 
expeditione Germanica : the first would render them “ served, or 
performed his part in the German expedition the other would 
translate them, “ died in the German expeditionthough there are 
objections to the last interpretation, yet on the whole, it seems the 
more probable : in this case, the tomb would merely be a cenotaph 
to his manes. The remarks made by the Rev. Henry Hey Knight, 
of Neath, on a copy of the inscription being laid before him, are so 
very much to the point, that with his permission they have been 
transcribed here. He observes “ with regard to the meaning of 
the word ‘ defunctus ,’ it is often used for ‘ served,’ or ‘discharged 
an office/ Thus, ‘ defunctus honoribus aedilitiis’ occurs on an 
inscription in Gruter p. 349. 2. Hence the first impression might 
be that Tadius had served in one of the two German expeditions, 
mentioned in other inscriptions, and by Suetonius in his life of 
Domitian c. 6 and c. 13.” 

“ The complicated ligatures of the letters would, however, induce 
me to think that a later German campaign (perhaps under M. 
Aurelius or Alexander Severus) was meant.” 

“ On the whole I am of opinion, that the word defunctus bears 
the common meaning of ‘dead” as in the Oxford marbles 
LXXXV, and in Gruter 831. 8. and 925. 1, and the later classics 
Petronius and Pliny. If Tadius had held any considerable military 
rank or office, it would have been recorded on the monument, and 


23 


again we are forbidden by his age, from taking the word ‘ defunctus ’ 
in the general meaning of having ‘ completed’ his term of military 
service in the expedition.” 

“ The ordinary meaning of the word seems to me to agree best 
with the last words of the inscription, secus tumulum patris posuit, 
which convey a pleasing touch of natural feeling.” 

To the inscriptions mentioned by Mr. Knight, might be added 
one, which is given by Mr. Maitland, in his recent work on the 
“ Church in the Catacombs,” (page 288) defvntvs. k. sept. 

It is curious that the mason, in cutting the name of Tadia 
Exuperata, appears to have made an error, by inserting an e before 
the final a, and afterwards attempted to correct it by erasure, in 
which he only partially succeeded. 

Fig. 2 was found some time since in a field by the road side 
leading from Caerleon to Bulmore, where a large number of in¬ 
scriptions already published were found several years since. This 
field forms the side of a rather steep hill, and many remains of 
interments have been found there ; it has now been dug over to 
form a potato garden, so that probably nothing further will be 
brought to light. The inscription may be read thus:— 

DlIS MANIBVS VITALI VIXIT ANNOS # # # # # 

Fig. 3 is part of a sepulchral stone, also from the same place ; 
so much has been lost, that but little interest would attach to it, 
were it not for the rough scoring of lines between the d and the m, 
of which only one half remains. The Rev. C. W. King, on seeing 
the stone, pointed out the similarity, between this rough scoring, 
and the rude representation of a palm branch, which generally 
marks the tomb of a Christian Roman. He states, that for several 
centuries, Christian inscriptions retained the d m, without reference 
to its original meaning, as may be seen in many examples from the 
Roman Catacombs. The form of the letter m on the present stone, 
is only found in inscriptions of very late date. 

The inscription, or rather the fragment of one, drawn Plate XI, 
though unfortunately so imperfect, is of considerable interest. It 


24 


was found in the church-yard, and was broken in pieces by the 
sexton before he knew its value : most fortunately however, by the 
care of the Rev. Daniel Jones, the Vicar of Caerleon, hardly any of 
the stone has been lost, as the moment that letters were discovered 
upon it, a diligent search was made for every fragment. It appears 
to have formed part of a long inscription; the letters are very 
sharply cut and evidently have been chiselled by a good artist; they 
have been coloured with minium or red paint, which was very 
distinct when the stone was first taken up, and even now is still 
visible. 

The inscription refers to some building which had gone to decay 
and had been restored by Severus and Geta his son. Instances 
will be found in Gruter (page 172, No. 5,) of a similar use of the 
word corruptum : in the present instance it takes the place in the 
sentence, which is usually occupied by the word restituerunt or 
some expression of a similar import. 

From a comparison of the space which would have been occupied 
by the letters wanting to complete the imperial title, and also the 
name of Severus; thus, 

IMPERATORES 
MI VS SEVERVS A 

it appears probable, that the name of Caracalla has not been 
mentioned and that the title avg refers to Severus only. If we 
suppose that the inscription began with the word Imperatives, there 
can be little doubt about the matter ; and it is rather singular, that 
this supposition is borne out by an inscription recorded by Maundrell 
in his “Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem,” in 1697-page 47. 
It was found near Sidon and is as follows :— 

IMPERATORES 
CAESARES 
L SEPTIMVS SE 
VERVS PIVS PER 
Tils AX AVG ARA 
BICVS ADIABENICVS 
PA RTHICVS MAXI 
MVS TR1BVNICIA 


25 


POTES VI IMP XI COS 
PRO COS. P. P. 

ET M AVREL ANTONI 
N VS AVG FI LI VS EJVS 
VIAS ET MILLIARIA 
FR * * 0 VENIDIVM RV 
FVM LEG AVGG 
L # # pr PRAESIDEM 
PROVINC STRIAE PHOE 
NIC RENOVAVEIiVNT 
I 

It will be observed that the commencement of the inscription in 
both cases is the same, Imperatores Csesares; and also, that in the 
inscription in Palestine, the name of Caracalla, or Marcus Aurelius 
Antoninus, as he is usually named, stands alone, his brother’s name 
being omitted; while in the present inscription found at Caerleon, 
there is every probability, that the name of Geta has stood alone, 
that of Caracalla his brother having been omitted. 

It is well known that in many inscriptions the name of Geta has 
been designedly erased ; a case of this kind w r as recorded by Cam¬ 
den, and the stone which had been removed from Caerleon for so 
many years has been now, by the kindness of Charles Lewis, Esq., 
of St. Pierre, been restored to its original locality, and will be 
placed in the museum when completed. The erasure in this in¬ 
scription was easily effected, the stone being soft oolite, but in that 
sketched Plate XI, the stone is much harder, and it appears as if 
the mason had found his work so difficult, that he gave it up after 
having partially erased three letters; there still remain decided 
traces of the et, and also the form of the letter p. 

The unhappy disputes in the family of Severus are well known to 
every one: they continued for many years, and were a constant 
source of disquietude to the emperor. We also learn from Hero- 
dian III. 48, that Severus, when he went northward in Britain, took 
Caracalla with him, leaving Geta his younger son to regulate the 
affairs of the south of Britain, which was more settled, and for which 
duty he was better qualified, than for the hardships of warfare in the 
north. While his father and brother were absent, and he had un- 


26 


disputed sway, may not Geta, under a feeling of irritation against 
his brother, have erected this inscription, leaving out Caracalla’s 
name ; in the same manner as his brother in Palestine had omitted 
that of Geta? This seems at least a probable supposition, in 
endeavouring to account for the omission ; the subsequent erasure, 
or attempt at erasure needs no explanation. 

The inscription drawn Plate XY. was found in the ruins of the 
large building : and is in memory of the first Tesserarius, probably 
of the Augustan legion, though this is not expressly stated. The 
actual inscription is Primus Tesera, evidently an abbreviation for 
Primus Tesserarius. This word occurs but rarely in inscriptions : 
probably this is the first which has been noticed in Britain : there 
are however several instances given by Gruter. The duty of the 
Tesserarius, as we learn from Yegetius (II. 7.) and others, was to 
receive the watch word from the commanding officer and to publish 
it to the army. It may be worthy of remark that while the officers 
of the rank of centurion always had their name mentioned in the 
tablets erected to their memory, in this case, where the officer was 
decidedly of a lower rank, he is only designated by his office. 

While the previous remarks were in the hands of the printer, the 
following extract from the “ Lexicon universale,” of Hofmann, vol. 
4, has been kindly communicated by the Rev. J. M. Traherne, of 
Coedriglan : it gives much information in few words. 

“ Tessera militaris, Palamedis inventum (Plin: 7. 56) tabella 
erat inscripta, quae soli occiduo a Tribuno accepta ferebatur ad 
signorum principes, rursumque ad Tribunum redibat, unde is om¬ 
nibus datum esse signum cognoscebat, necdum se intendentibus 
tenebris, perque omnes ad se pervenisse. 

Hanc qui militibus tribuebat ac per contubernia militum praetori- 
anorum que nuntiabat, Tesserarius itidem dictus est apud Romanos, 
cujus officii mentio non infrequens in veteribus Inscriptionibus.” 

The only inscription, which remains to be noticed is a short and 
very imperfect one, but which still has so singular an appearance, 
that it was thought worthy of a sketch. Unless any similar stone 


27 


should be discovered more perfect, so as to throw light upon it, it 
appears almost impossible to attempt a restoration, and therefore all 
that remains is to say, that it is drawn as accurately as possible 
Fig. 1, Plate XVIII. and that it was found, like that last de¬ 
scribed, in the ruins of the large building. 

Glass Bowl. —The remains of what has once been a very 
handsome glass vessel, were found some time since in the cutting 
of the Railway near Caerleon, and have been kindly left by the 
assistant engineer of the line to be deposited in the museum. The 
half-size drawing, fig. 3, Plate VIII, will give some idea of the 
general form. A plain rim runs around, about three quarters of 
an inch deep, below which the bowl has been encircled by a series 
of large handsome ribs. The glass is of the usual light blue colour, 
so well known to be almost characteristic of the Roman manu¬ 
facture. 

Ivory Carvings.— The most interesting objects which have 
yet been found at Caerleon are the two ivory carvings drawn Plate 
X: they were discovered by Mr. Jenkins in digging a drain, about 
five feet deep, near his house ; not far from the large building, but 
within the ancient city walls: a short distance from them was 
found a large sepulchral vessel of pottery, very similar to that 
drawn fig. 1, Plate XVII. 

When first taken out of the ground, they were washed, in order 
to free them from the dirt, and very unfortunately this operation 
caused the ivory to exfoliate in one or two places; this will be 
noticed in the head and arm of the female figure : the same thing 
happened to the face of the boy, but the piece was preserved, so 
that the features are now perfect. After having been exposed to 
the air for some days, the ivories began to crack in various direc¬ 
tions, and would inevitably have been lost, had they not im¬ 
mediately been well washed with a solution of isinglass in spirits 
of wine. The same mode, it appears was adopted in the case 
of the ivory carvings lately discovered at Nineveh, and brought to 
England by Mr. Layard. 


28 


But little need be said with respect to the subjects of these car¬ 
vings, as the etchings will give the best information: one of them 
represents a female figure placing a basket of fruit on the head of a 
cupid ; the other a tragic mask. It will be seen from the sketches, 
that they appear to have been fastened down by round pins or pegs 
to something behind them: the holes for this purpose are appa¬ 
rently unnecessary numerous. They may have formed part of the 
ornamental work of a chariot, but of course it is impossible to say 
this with certainty, though it is well known that masks were very 
frequently employed both in architecture and in decoration. A 
very similar mask is drawn in the volume on Pompeii, published 
by the Society for Useful Knowledge. 

Sepulchral Vessel, Altar, Ac. The vessel drawn jig. 1, 
Plate XVII, was found in Mr. Jenkins’ garden, within a very short 
distance of the surface, in fact so near that the upper part, most 
probably from the operations of the spade, or possibly from the 
damp, has been entirely destroyed: enough remains, however, to 
shew its large size : it contained a quantity of bones ; so completely 
decomposed, that they had become almost a white kind of clay; 
a large brass coin, nearly eaten through with rust; and the small 
earthenware vessel drawn jig. 2, on the same scale. 

It is rather singular that the place where this vessel was found, 
was just within the line of the ancient wall of the city. 

The altar drawn jig. 3 on the same plate, has already been men¬ 
tioned: a portion of a jar sculptured on the stone is still visible on 
the right side ; and on the left is a quantity of the mortar formed 
of pounded brick, which still adheres to the front, and proves that 
it was used in Roman times as common building stone. 

Fig. 4, Plate XVIII, is the print of a sandal, set with nails, 
upon one of the large square tiles of the Augustan legion : portions 
of these prints are not uncommon, but the impress of a w T hole sandal 
has not yet been found : the drawing is one-third of the actual size. 

The curious stone drawn jig. 3 of the same plate, was found 
together with other Roman remains, and it was deemed advisable 


59 


to give a sketch of it, in case any similar object should be found in 
other localities, which might throw light upon the use to which it 
had been applied. A proof of the plate was forwarded to Mr. C. 
Roach Smith, who considers it as a medieval mould, and states that 
it resembles some in his collection. 

Should this opinion prove correct there is no difficulty in the case, 
for though decidedly found together with Roman remains, it is very 
likely that in such a place as Caerleon the remains of different ages 
may very readily have been mixed together. 

As an addition to this short account of the late discoveries at 
Caerleon, a plan of the Roman environs of the place has been 
sketched, Plan 5. This will give some idea how the whole of the 
surrounding country was occupied with villas or buildings. 

It may be well, also to mention, that besides the antiquities now 
described, several very beautiful glass vessels and other remains, 
amongst which is a sepulchral inscription, have been published by 
Mr. Fox, in Number XI of the Archaeologia Camhrensis. 


PRINTED BY THOMAS OLIVER AND CO., COMMERCIAL STREET, NEWPORT. 









■ 
















































. 















mMM* BIIlLBIHi 

Lately discovered on the property of 


< . 


References 


[~1 Medieval Bmlduigs. 
O Roman Butldmgs. 

ith fragments of Brisk 


Bath stuccoed w 
Sea ts ire the Bath 

Leaden,pipe leading trom the Bath to the drain x 
Perforated Sts nr fbr the, escape of water. 

Flue supported by upright Dram tiles 

Seal in the, wait . the whole length of the room, n . 

Stahn the wait. 

have been removed. 


X B These walls \ 
were opened several years \ 
ago & nr actual measure = j 
■merits were taken at tire turd 
but FFJ Jenkins & his servants' 
are nearly certain that (hep 
dotted lines arcuratoly re* j 
oresent the dimensions 


Wall from which apparently steps 
Seat 

Dram or flue tiles built into the well 

Comer of a rccm(-) with flagged pavement 

Drams of which one side was par hath/ formed of a dram tdc 


represent the run, of the drain 
flay cr stale paving 


The marks 


□ □□□□□□ L J 
onoc.no ho 
,aooooo a o 

ooonooo □ 

□ddcddod 

qodddddo 

DaDDODQD 

ooaoooaa 


Ends of two w alls 



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" 































































































Plate I 



SAM !AN WARE- CAERLEON 
































Plate II 



SAMIAN WARE AND POTTERS MARKS - CAERLEON 



























































































Plate nr 





































Plate IV 




I 


I 



ROMAN REMAINS - CAERE EON 
















































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Plate V 



! 





ROMA N 


REMAIN S - CAFRLECM 
































































































ROMAN REMAINS - CAERL.EON 













































I 


Plate VII 


S' 


*1 


S' 



V 


f TAb/W>iLAV|#S^DHT I 
f a hisPLXvsr TAbyb'B^fp ert^ 1 
: F L\AsMXTANsKXXvnT 5 yvj^: 
irV.S‘sX^Dt Q?nEG^M NIC A, 
iTAb WEX/PER AFA-t LA 
i'MArfe-ET-pAT k-FilSSMA 
| 5 E C VS' 


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roman INSCRIPTIONS -.caerlecn 



















PI ale VIII 



ROMAN REMAINS 


i-\ E R LE O M 




















Plate 'LX 



Ground Plan d m-to 1 foot 


FLUE IN A ROMAN VILlA ? 'CAEfU£GN 















































































ROMAN INSCRIPTION - CAFR LEON 













































U'MAN building - CAERLEON 





















REMAINS OF ROMAN ANO MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS - CAERLEON 




























. 

. 




If , 



















































































































































Plate XV 








ROMAN INSCRIPTION - CAER.LEON 










































? late XVI 



ROMAN REMAINS - CAERLEON 





































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DESCRIPTION 


OF A 

ROMAN BUILDING 

AND OTHER, REMAINS 

,*■ A*. 

& 

LATELY DISCOVERED AT 


CAERLEON. 


BY JOHN EDWARD LEE. 


LONDON: 

J. R. SMITH, 4, OLD COMPTON STREET. 


MDCCCL. 




Price Five Shillings. 








































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